India and France to work together in Make in India initiatives to boost space, defence sectors

In keeping with the Make in India efforts, India and France decided to work closely together to address challenges connected to space issues, as well as strengthen their relations in climate change and defence. During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to France, the two countries agreed to establish a bilateral strategic dialogue on space issues, building on a great tradition of over 60 years of technical and scientific space cooperation. This is in order to address the contemporary challenges that have arisen in space, in particular maintaining secure access to space for all.

"It will bring together experts from space and defence agencies, administration and specialised ecosystem to discuss security and economic challenges in outer space, the norms and principles applicable to space as well as unveil new areas of cooperation. The two sides agreed to hold the first dialogue this year at the earliest," the joint statement from the meeting revealed.

India and France both stressed that their long-standing weapons cooperation demonstrates their mutual trust. The six Scorpene submarines manufactured at MDL in Mumbai show the extent of technological transfer from France to India, as part of the "Make in India" project.

The two sides have synergy in the realm of defence, as seen by the timely delivery of the Rafale despite the pandemic. Continuing this momentum, and based on their mutual trust, both sides agreed to find innovative ways for France to become more involved in India's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-reliant India) efforts in advanced defence technology, manufacturing, and exports, including by encouraging increased industry-to-industry collaboration.

In an increasingly digital world, India and France have strengthened their cyber security agencies' cooperation. They agree to work together to promote cyber norms and principles in order to combat cyber threats, and to improve their bilateral cyber communication in order to contribute to a peaceful, secure, and open cyberspace, based on a shared vision.